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Free Admission for Indigenous Peoples' Day

Presentation Community History

What’s Happening?

On Indigenous Peoples' Day, we honor the sovereignty, resilience and immense contributions of Native Americans. Join us for a free day of special programming to respectfully acknowledge and celebrate Indigenous communities.

Artist Presentation with Elizabeth James Perry
Noon–1:30 pm | Main Atrium

2023 NEA Heritage award recipient Elizabeth James-Perry (Aquinnah Wampanoag) joins us for a presentation of her artistic practice. Her work engages with Northeastern Woodlands Native cultural expressions, primarily in sculptural forms of wampum shell-carving and bead-making with its connection to identity and sovereignty, maritime traditions and restorative Native gardening.

She is a culture bearer, lecturer, educator and plant walk leader in addition to textile, wampum and quill work. You can find her work on display in On This Ground: Being and Belonging in America.

Film Screenings: We Still Live Here: Âs Nutayuneân
11:30 am–1 pm, 1–2:30 pm Morse Auditorium
84 minutes long

We Still Live Here: Âs Nutayuneân, a documentary by award-winning filmmaker Anne Makepeace, tells the story of the return of the Wampanoag language, a language that was silenced for more than a century. At the heart of the film is Jessie Little Doe Baird (Mashpee Wampanoag), who finds her way from the tiny enclave of Mashpee, Massachusetts, to becoming a celebrated linguist honored with a MacArthur ‘genius’ award in 2010 for her unprecedented work in bringing her own Wampanoag language back home.

We Still Live Here interweaves the present-day story of Jessie and other Wampanoags reclaiming their language with historical events that silenced the language and obliterated much of their culture – epidemics, missionary pressures, land loss and the indenture of Native children. Ruth Lingford’s powerful animation illuminates and deepens the emotional impact of these devastating events, even as the contemporary story brings a hopeful vision of the future.

On Indigenous Peoples' Day, we honor the sovereignty, resilience and immense contributions of Native Americans. Join us for a free day of special programming to respectfully acknowledge and celebrate Indigenous communities.

Artist Presentation with Elizabeth James Perry
Noon–1:30 pm | Main Atrium

2023 NEA Heritage award recipient Elizabeth James-Perry (Aquinnah Wampanoag) joins us for a presentation of her artistic practice. Her work engages with Northeastern Woodlands Native cultural expressions, primarily in sculptural forms of wampum shell-carving and bead-making with its connection to identity and sovereignty, maritime traditions and restorative Native gardening.

She is a culture bearer, lecturer, educator and plant walk leader in addition to textile, wampum and quill work. You can find her work on display in On This Ground: Being and Belonging in America.

Film Screenings: We Still Live Here: Âs Nutayuneân
11:30 am–1 pm, 1–2:30 pm Morse Auditorium
84 minutes long

We Still Live Here: Âs Nutayuneân, a documentary by award-winning filmmaker Anne Makepeace, tells the story of the return of the Wampanoag language, a language that was silenced for more than a century. At the heart of the film is Jessie Little Doe Baird (Mashpee Wampanoag), who finds her way from the tiny enclave of Mashpee, Massachusetts, to becoming a celebrated linguist honored with a MacArthur ‘genius’ award in 2010 for her unprecedented work in bringing her own Wampanoag language back home.

We Still Live Here interweaves the present-day story of Jessie and other Wampanoags reclaiming their language with historical events that silenced the language and obliterated much of their culture – epidemics, missionary pressures, land loss and the indenture of Native children. Ruth Lingford’s powerful animation illuminates and deepens the emotional impact of these devastating events, even as the contemporary story brings a hopeful vision of the future.

More about Peabody Essex Museum
Founded in 1799, the Peabody Essex Museum (PEM) in Salem, Massachusetts, is the country’s oldest continuously operating museum. PEM provides thought-provoking experiences of the arts, humanities and sciences to celebrate the creative achievements and potential of people across time, place and culture. By connecting people through inquiry, empathy and dialogue, PEM encourages an understanding of our shared humanity and fosters a sense of belonging in a complex, ever-changing world.
When & Where
Oct 12, 2026, 10:00am to 5:00pm Timezone: EDT
Free


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